February 8th and 9th of 2013 will go down in history as one of the most powerful winter storms that Connecticut has ever seen.  This storm rivaled the Blizzards of 1888 and 1978.  The snow began at 7:39 AM in North Haven and when I woke up on Saturday morning it was still snowing at 8AM.  The areas that saw the most snow were from Milford east to New Haven.  Then along the 91N corridor for 10 miles or so as North Haven, Wallingford, and Meriden received accumulations over 30 inches.  The winner for most snow is Hamden with 40”.  That seems a little bit high but it’s an official tally.  The winds from this storm caused snow drifts  5-6 ft high and I had a very hard time getting a good measurement.  My official tally was 29” in North Haven.

In the late afternoon hours when the snow began to pick up in intensity, snow was falling at rates of 2-4 inches an hour.  I have never seen snow fall so hard in my life.  Just like in 1978, cars were stranded on city streets, plows were getting stuck, and the entire state shutdown for over a day.  

Gov. Malloy issued a ban for traffic on Saturday until 4pm allowing all the cities and towns in the area to more effectively clean up and clear the streets. 

Here are some totals from towns in the area:

...FAIRFIELD COUNTY...

   FAIRFIELD             35.0  1000 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   STRATFORD             33.0  1030 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   MONROE                30.0   900 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   BRIDGEPORT            30.0   658 AM  2/09  COOP OBSERVER          

   SHELTON               26.5   700 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   WESTON                26.5   800 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   WESTPORT              24.5   645 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   GREENWICH             22.5   900 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   DARIEN                22.1   500 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   NORWALK               22.0   730 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   ROXBURY               22.0   800 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   NEW CANAAN            22.0   600 AM  2/09  CT DOT                 

   DANBURY               21.5  1200 PM  2/09  CT DOT                 

   STAMFORD              19.0  1100 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                  

   NEWTOWN               17.1  1000 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   BETHEL                16.0   800 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   RIDGEFIELD            12.0   800 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                       

...MIDDLESEX COUNTY...

   EAST HADDAM           35.5   845 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   OLD SAYBROOK          30.0  1200 PM  2/09  CT DOT                 

   CLINTON               27.5   800 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   HADDAM                27.0  1200 PM  2/09  CT DOT                 

   HIGGANUM              24.0   700 AM  2/09  AMATEUR RADIO          

   CROMWELL              23.0   700 AM  2/09  AMATEUR RADIO          

   MIDDLETOWN            12.0  1200 PM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

...NEW HAVEN COUNTY...                 

   MILFORD               38.0   615 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   CLINTONVILLE          37.0  1040 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   OXFORD                36.2   600 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   NORTH BRANFORD        36.0  1100 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   MERIDEN               36.0   200 PM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   YALESVILLE            35.0   909 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER         

   WALLINGFORD           35.0   700 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   NEW HAVEN             34.3   600 AM  2/09  CT DOT                 

   WEST HAVEN            34.0  1040 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   NORTHFORD             33.5   950 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   WOLCOTT               33.0   457 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   EAST HAVEN            33.0  1005 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   GUILFORD              33.0  1113 AM  2/09  BROADCAST MEDIA        

   NORTH GUILFORD        32.0   900 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   WATERBURY             32.0   900 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   MADISON               32.0   321 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   NAUGATUCK             30.0   600 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   NORTH HAVEN           29.0   950 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   BRANFORD              28.0   700 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   SOUTHBURY             26.3  1030 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   NORTH BRANDFORD       24.0  1230 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   BEACON FALLS          21.0  1200 PM  2/09  CT DOT                                

...NEW LONDON COUNTY...

   COLCHESTER            31.0  1200 PM  2/09  CT DOT                 

   GILMAN                27.0   600 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   NORWICH               25.0   600 AM  2/09  CT DOT                 

   LISBON                24.0  1158 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   GALES FERRY           24.0  1045 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER         

   OLD LYME              23.6  1200 PM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   LEDYARD CENTER        22.0  1045 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   MYSTIC SEAPORT        21.0  1100 AM  2/09  NWS EMPLOYEE           

   STONINGTON            15.0   900 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER              

Currently 22 degrees and 25 inches of snow has fallen.  We have a strong band of snow that has setup right over the middle of the state.  I really think there will be spots that reach 3ft with this storm! The band goes straight up Interstate 91 essentially.  Hamden was just mentioned on the weather channel as being in the lead statewide with 26 inches.  Below is a YouTube video I made earlier around 5 PM driving around North Haven.  

At 7:30 PM at my home in North Haven, I recorded 8 inches of snow.  The snow began at 7:39 AM this morning and has never changed to sleet or rain this whole time.  The intensity of the snow is at its heaviest right now and you can expect 2-3 inch per hour snowfall rates in the next several hours.  

Roads are very bad right now.  You'd seriously be risking your life if you go out in this.  

If you'd like to watch the live feed of my webcam then click on this link for the North Haven Blizzard Cam


If you'd like to report the total from your town you can tweet it to me @ctweathergeek or leave it in a comment below!  Thanks!